Nutella maker settles $2.5M lawsuit

Ferrero U.S.A. Inc., maker of the chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella, will pay about $2.5 million US to settle a class-action lawsuit in California, media reports say.

The lawsuit objected to advertisements suggesting the spread was a healthy food. Now the company has agreed to settle, dividing the money among the people who filed a claim and joined the suit, according to The Consumerist.

The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the company declined to comment on the lawsuit when it was filed.

A spokeswoman at the time, however, said, "We stand behind the quality and ingredients of Nutella hazelnut spread and the advertising of our product."

There was no immediate comment Friday from either side.

The lawsuit claimed the originally Italian product "contains dangerous levels of saturated fat" and "over 55 per cent processed sugar."

Those ingredients, the suit said, made it a significant contributor to increased childhood obesity.